In many parts of the world, chicken is a major source of animal protein in the human diet. A desirable source of chicken is broiler chicks, which are young, tender, small birds.
To meet the demand for chicken, broiler chicks are frequently raised using a rapid growth regimen such that the chicks attain market size in about six weeks. The regimen typically includes feeding the broiler chicks high nutrient feed that has been specially formulated for rapid growth. The regimen may also include exposure of the broiler chicks to continual or near continual light to encourage the chicks to feed longer each day. The regimen may further include exposure of the broiler chicks to relatively high temperatures, with optional periodic drops in temperature for cold stress conditioning.
Although rapid growth regimens can be effective in minimizing the time required for broiler chicks to attain the desired market weight, such rapid growth regimens can lead to problems. For example, although the broiler chicks have been selectively bred for rapid growth of the large breast tissue, other tissues and organs may not necessarily grow at the same rate, which can lead to problems such as bone structure and/or skeletal muscles being inadequate to support the weight of the growing chicks, which may ultimately lead to high morbidity (e.g., difficulty eating and sleeping) and early mortality levels (i.e., death occurring during the rapid growth regimen).
New compositions and methods that can improve the results attained from such rapid growth regimens are needed.